75-seater bus overturns along the dangerous Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road as Probox and Sprinter accident kills 4
A 75-seater Greenhorse bus overturned along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road on Thursday, adding to growing concern over the safety of one of Zimbabwe’s most important and badly damaged highways.
The bus was travelling from Bulawayo to Lupane when it overturned about 12 kilometres after Insuza Business Centre. Several passengers sustained minor injuries, but no deaths were recorded.
The accident happened when the driver reportedly failed to negotiate a curve. The bus fell on its side, leaving passengers shaken and forcing motorists travelling along the route to slow down as they passed the scene.
“A few passengers were slightly injured after the bus fell on its side after failing to negotiate a curve. The accident happened about 12 kilometres from Insuza Business Centre. We thank God that no one died,” said a businessman who runs a shop at Insuza Business Centre and drove past the accident scene minutes after it happened.
The circumstances surrounding the crash were not immediately clear. The incident came as the condition of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road continued to draw complaints from motorists, transport operators and communities that rely on the highway for travel, trade and access to essential services.
The road has deteriorated over several years, with motorists facing large potholes, damaged road edges, narrow lanes and sections that force vehicles to slow down or move into the path of oncoming traffic. Heavy trucks and buses using the route have added pressure to the ageing surface, while road users have also reported long delays around construction areas and temporary diversions.
The 435-kilometre highway links Bulawayo with Lupane, Dete, Hwange and Victoria Falls. It is also part of a wider route connecting Zimbabwe’s industrial and mining centres with regional markets in Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. The highway carries tourists heading to Victoria Falls, public transport vehicles, commercial trucks and residents travelling between towns along the corridor.
Its importance has made the slow pace of rehabilitation a source of frustration. The road was built in the 1960s and has needed major reconstruction rather than routine patching. Government officials have said that several contractors were brought in to work on different sections, with the work expected to be completed within 10 months after operations resumed.
That timetable has not ended the complaints. Financial constraints have slowed the project, with Treasury resources having to cover the rehabilitation of the Victoria Falls route alongside other national roads and infrastructure programmes. Officials have said they are working with the Ministry of Finance to secure additional funding so that the project can be completed.
Eight contractors have been deployed on sections of the highway, while road crews have been stationed in areas including Hwange, Halfway and Insiza. The work is intended to address the most damaged stretches, improve the road surface and widen or upgrade the route to safer standards.
But construction itself has brought fresh difficulties for people living along the route. Motorists have had to use detours in some areas, including sections between Mabale and Cross Dete. Some diversions have passed through villages and wildlife zones, creating additional risks for residents, livestock and travellers. Authorities have acknowledged complaints about the diversions and said temporary roads would be repaired once the main construction work is finished.
The latest bus accident was reported on the same day that details emerged of a separate fatal crash on the Harare-Chirundu highway. Four people died and 14 others were injured when a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter collided head-on with a Toyota Probox on Monday night.
The collision occurred at the 101-kilometre peg at about 8.45pm. The Sprinter was carrying 21 passengers, while the Probox had five people on board.
In a statement, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said, “The ZRP confirms a fatal road traffic accident that occurred on September 7 along the Harare-Chirundu Road.
“Four people were killed while 14 others were injured when a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter carrying 21 passengers was involved in a head-on collision with a Toyota Probox vehicle with five passengers on board.
“The bodies of the victims were taken to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital mortuary for post-mortem, while the injured victims were admitted at the same hospital,” he said.
Another four people died on Monday when a commuter omnibus side-swiped a Nissan AD Van and veered off the road near Prince of Wales along the Mutare-Chigodora Road. Police had not yet established the number of people injured in that crash.
“The driver is said to have overtaken other vehicles at a curve and side-swiped the van before veering off the road. The number of injured people is yet to be established. More details on these cases will be released in due course,” Commissioner Nyathi said.
The three crashes have placed renewed attention on the dangers faced by passengers using Zimbabwe’s highways. Curves, overtaking, speeding, poor visibility and damaged road surfaces can leave little room for drivers to recover when a vehicle loses control. The danger is greater on routes carrying buses, commuter omnibuses and heavy trucks, where a single mistake can affect many passengers.
The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road has become particularly difficult for long-distance drivers. Potholes can force vehicles to brake suddenly, swerve or cross the centre line. Eroded shoulders reduce the space available to a driver who needs to avoid an obstruction, while narrow lanes leave heavy vehicles and smaller cars passing close to each other.
The state of the road has also affected tourism and business. Victoria Falls is Zimbabwe’s biggest tourism destination, yet visitors travelling by road must contend with long journeys, rough sections and construction delays. Transport operators face higher repair and fuel costs when vehicles are forced to travel slowly or take detours. Businesses in towns along the route depend on reliable road access for deliveries, workers and customers.
The route is also used to move coal, cement, machinery, food and other goods. As rail services struggle with ageing equipment and limited capacity, more bulk cargo has shifted to roads, increasing the burden on highways that are already in poor condition. Redirecting some heavy freight to rail has been proposed as one way to protect the road network after rehabilitation.
Residents and motorists now want visible progress on the project, not more promises and revised completion dates. They are calling for dangerous curves to be clearly marked, potholes to be repaired while major works continue, construction zones to have proper signs and diversions to be maintained for the safety of both drivers and communities.
The Greenhorse bus crash did not claim a life, but its passengers were fortunate to escape with minor injuries. The four deaths on the Harare-Chirundu highway and the four lives lost near Prince of Wales show how quickly a road accident can become a mass-casualty event.
Until the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road is fully rehabilitated, drivers and passengers will continue to face a route where poor surfaces, unfinished works and heavy traffic combine to create daily hazards. The demand from road users is straightforward: complete the rehabilitation, make the highway safe and end the delays that have allowed a vital national road to deteriorate for so long.